Recently I was contacted by Christine Weiser, the author of the not yet published novel The Mom Squad. She had asked if I’d give it a read and send off some blurbs to her and gave me the go ahead to review it also. Imagine my excitement to read another novel from Christine, having enjoyed Broad Street a great deal this past year.
Christine has such a unique writing style that I’ve really come to enjoy and in The Mom Squad it really shines through. Her novel Broad Street was about an all female rock band and in The Mom Squad it’s about a few mommies who take on some detective work of their own and try to solve a mystery set again in Philadelphia. You’ve got mommie groups, play dates, fiesty toddlers all together with a few chills and thrills not to mention more than a laugh or two.
The main character is Maya but even the secondary characters play significant roles. Maya used to be part of a rock band. As a matter of a fact she was pretty popular and she loved it~she loved getting all gussied up for a performance and then basking in the excitement of it all. Most of all she loved to sing and play guitar. That all changed when she became pregnant and had her daughter Charlotte and married the love of her life Nick. Now Maya is a stay-at-home mommie while Nick is still out there playing and basking in the limelight of being in a rock band. Along with that she has her angry step-daughter Gracie living with her too. Gracie has more than a little hatred towards Maya for taking her father away from her and her mother and she never fails to remind Maya of it too.
Now Maya loves her daughter Charlotte. You can feel that throughout the novel in the little things she does like whisper in her ear that she loves her or holds her close when she’s frightened. Yet Maya misses having some excitement in her life, she wants more. Really what she wants is what Nick still has. It’s been ages since Maya was at all concerned about getting dressed up and putting on makeup. These days she just tosses on a t-shirt and jeans, grabs the diaper bag and Charlotte and heads out.
Maya has been spending her time with two other moms~Susan and Rachel from the neighborhood. Susan is married to Bob who is involved in politics up to his ears. She’s got money and she’s a little nuts with being a neat freak up to the point where her little guy Austin has to stay clean at all odds. He’s a very quiet little guy who looks to his mama for approval all the time and who just goes about his business with no fuss or muss. Rachel, I really liked. She’s funny and outspoken at the darndest times. She’s very pregnant and throughout the story uses that to her full advantage to get out of scrapes when she needs to. She’s the exact opposite of Susan and her house is a disaster where her son Jacob can run wild to his heart’s content. Maya is my favorite character along with her daughter Charlotte. Maya just seems so real and down to earth that you can’t help but like her. She went from having it all to be a mom. She wouldn’t give up her daughter but you know she yearns for more. Charlotte is one fiesty little girl and you just can’t help but love her. She had me laughing more than once with her little temper tantrums and her go-getter attitude.
So, for Maya, the political scandal that erupts that involves Bob, Susan’s husband, is right up her alley. There’s also something funny going on with Rachel’s husband Sam who’s also into politics that they need to investigate further. So, the three women are off and running, getting themselves deeper and deeper into a crime that they would have been better off keeping their snoopy noses out of but where’s the excitement in that? All the while they are lugging strollers, diaper bags and toddlers along for the ride until things get too dangerous.
Maya starts getting strange emails in the mommy group and finds herself getting even further involved in whatever is going on. She starts to follow leads that she’s getting which put her in dangerous situations more than once. She’s out there playing with some pretty big players and she’s got a baby at home. What would Charlotte do without her mommy? Maya has to be careful and use her head but she’s too involved to back out now. The mystery continues right up to an ending I wasn’t quite expecting.
This is a great novel by Christine. Maya and her ever inquisitive mind and tendency to put herself in danger to find the truth has all the signs of making a great series and guess what? Yes, Christine is indeed writing the sequel to The Mom Squad right now and I can’t wait to read it and see what Maya has coming up next. Is she going to get back to her rock n’roll career? Or is she going to find herself another mystery to solve? I hope both. Again Christine portrays women as strong figures who can take care of themselves and get what they want if they want it bad enough. Christine’s books are so much more than the traditional chick-lit. They are real life women with real life issues.
Christine has become one of my favorite authors to watch! Pop on over to her website here and just as soon as I have any information on when Christine’s book The Mom Squad will be published, I’ll be posting it here for you all. I’d definitely recommend it for all who like chick-lit with that added something that makes it a much more developed and interesting story! Thanks so much for sending me the novel Christine. I read it in a couple of sittings which just goes to show how good I thought it was!
I’ve read one other review of this book and it was just as positive as yours. Sounds like a book I need to watch for.
I’ve read a review on this book (as well as Broad Street) and they both sound phenomenal! In many ways I can commiserate with Maya, having been the butt-kicking corporate career woman most of my life before quitting to take care of my kids. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but now and again I reflect on the difference in my lifestyles. I’m sure I would “get” Maya!
This does sound very good! I like the title ‘Mom Squad’
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Sounds fantastic- looks like I will have to add this to my TBR list too.
Loved your review!! This book sounds like total fun!!!
Isn’t it cool to develop a relationship with an author and get a sneak peek at her work? Kind of like a secret club 🙂 I’m glad this second novel lived up to the expectations set by her first!
Dawn, it really is nice to develop relationships with authors especially when you really enjoy their work.
Naida, I really liked the title as well.
Everyone else, I’ll post an update when I know anything.
I like the way you describe this as more well-developed and interesting than most chick lit, Dar!